What is Video Advertising?
Video advertising uses moving images to convey product and benefit quickly across placements like in-feed, in-stream, and outstream.
Understanding Video Advertising
Video advertising uses moving images to convey product benefits and outcomes quickly across diverse placements like in-feed, in-stream, stories, and CTV. Motion naturally increases attention and recall, but only when it serves clarity rather than decoration. Strong video ads show the product immediately, communicate the core benefit within the first two seconds, and assume muted playback by default. Captions, bold overlays, and clear visual hierarchy ensure the message reads even without sound.
Catalog product-level videos scale motion across entire SKUs without manual editing, enabling dynamic adaptation to placement, audience, and performance data. Native aspect ratios (1:1, 4:5, 9:16, 16:9) ensure ads display correctly across feeds and avoid letterboxing that reduces effective screen space. Keep videos short (6-15 seconds) unless storytelling or explanation demands more length. Test hooks, pacing, and CTAs systematically to learn which combinations drive thumbstops, holds, and conversions.
Why Video Advertising matters
Video advertising matters because it captures attention faster than static images and communicates product use and outcomes more clearly. Higher thumbstops and recall translate to better CTR and conversion when creative is designed for platform behavior. Video also unlocks inventory across social feeds, open web, and CTV where static formats underperform or aren't accepted.
- Attention: Higher thumbstops and recall.
- Clarity: Show product use and outcomes.
- Coverage: Works across social, open web, and CTV.
How Video Advertising works
Video advertising works by delivering short motion-driven messages that hook viewers quickly and hold attention long enough to communicate value. Platforms prioritize video in feeds because it increases time spent, giving video ads favorable placement and reach. Export native aspect ratios to match each platform's dominant format—vertical for stories and reels, square for feeds, landscape for YouTube and CTV. Use captions and overlays to ensure clarity when sound is off, which is the default for most social placements. Test video length against completion rate and conversion to find the sweet spot for your product and audience. Monitor hold rate and hook rate to diagnose where viewers drop and iterate on pacing, product clarity, and CTA strength.
